a solid effort--but it just misses its mark...
Coming Home is a sensitive portrayal of three people and how their lives were changed by the war in Vietnam. Look for wonderful acting by Jane Fonda who had to contend with a script that was not exactly the best I've ever seen; and Jon Voight does an excellent job playing the role of Luke Martin, a Vietnam vet who was badly wounded in combat. Bruce Dern plays Capt. Bob Hyde with a lot of style; all the actors do their best in this film. The script fails to flesh out the depth of the characters and the movie held my attention although there were some slow moments along the way.

When the action begins, we meet Sally Hyde (Jane Fonda) and her soon to go to war Marine husband Bob Hyde (Bruce Dern). We also soon meet Sally's friend Vi Munson who is ably portrayed by Penelope Milford. Bob is eager to go to war and fight (and kill) for his country but Sally's much more realistically concerned about her husband being in combat. After Bob does go off to war, Sally and Vi form a friendship bond that is sweet and touching. Vi's brother Bill Munson (Robert Carradine) is psychiatrically disabled in a veteran hospital; so when Vi goes to volunteer there Sally decides to volunteer as well. Sally wants to deal with true issues about the war but the other women volunteers won't have any of it; and slowly but surely Sally begins to doubt that the war is absolutely necessary and good.

At the same time, Sally meets an old school pal named Luke Martin (Jon Voight). Luke himself is very injured following his being wounded in combat during the war and Luke is certainly cynical and haunted by guilt to say the least. Luke and Sally also form a friendship and this eventually leads to a love affair that is rather poignant and well done in the movie.

Of course, the plot could go anywhere from here. Will Sally want to leave her husband Bob when he returns from war and live with Luke instead? How will Vi handle life after her brother Bill kills himself in the hospital? What about Bob's injury--just how did he REALLY get wounded? In addition, when Bob is away Sally works (which Bob doesn't like) and she becomes more anti-war than ever before. How will Bob handle this change in his wife? No plot spoilers here, folks--watch the movie and find out!

There are a few DVD extras; the optional running commentary was very good.

Overall, Coming Home is a very good but not truly great story of how lives were drastically changed because of the war in Vietnam. I recommend this for people who like this type of theme and people studying the Vietnam War would do well to get this movie. However, the script falls short of my expectations and the actors are indeed left to make the best of a lukewarm situation. The acting is truly better than the script!

Silly and naive
I love Hal Ashby, so I was greatly disappointed when I finally watched much praised Coming Home. Jane Fonda cheats on her husband while he is fighting in Vietnam war. Although she was little hesitant at first, her partner in crime (Jon Voight) shows no reservation about cheating with married woman whose husband is in the war. Their affair is supposed to be something beautiful and something that enables them in their "self actualization".

It gets more absurd. When her husband comes home and finds out (their affair cost him his job), he angrily confronts his wife and Jon Voight. Jon Voight character calmly tells the husband that he is not whom he should be angry at. The real enemy is elsewhere (I guess the government??!).

Next, we see Jon Voight preaching at a local high school regarding the evils of the war. He says "i don't want any of you to get killed". Meanwhile, the distraught husband goes inside the water to commit suicide.

Of course, Jane Fonda (wife) never enjoyed sex with her husband (bad selfish lover). It wasn't until she met Jon Voight that she had her first orgasm. So I guess all can be forgiven.
If the gender was reversed, there would be many outraged critics.

Absolutely silly and naive. and Absurd.

Make sure to listen to the commentary
I have always loved this movie, and I saw it again after many years. It was as deep and well acted as remembered. Jane Fonda, Bruce Dern,and Jon Voight were at their professional and artistic peaks. The details are what made this so compelling, the real Vietnam vets, ( they were not actors), the music, the expressions in the actors' and actresses' eyes...
I have to especially commend the men who did the commentary. It is one of my favorite things to do, to re-watch a good movie and listen to the commentary, which often is quite entertaining ( such as the movie Sideways' commentary)or in this case, extremely enlightening and educational.
Haskell Wexler, Jon Voight, and Bruce Dern provided the commentary, and while I would have loved Jane Fonda to be included, these 3 proved to be wonderful. They quietly discussed all the aspects of this movie, from the difficulties in lighting, the script and improvisational moments, the interpersonal relationships, the Vietnam vets in the movie and the real basketball players; the purpose of the music chosen, the history of what was going on in the US and why this movie was unique for it's time...I can not stress enough to any of you reading this: Please take time for the commentary. To be able to hear these 3 great artists and to learn about a piece of movie making history... it was engrossing and touching; makes me appreciate the movie itself even more.

Stunning performance by Jon Voight
This is not just another film about the Vietnam War. It is the film about people affected by the war in a ways they least expected. Young military wife is left to her own devices once her husband is called into active duty in Vietnam. As she and her husband grow increasingly apart, thru her volunteer work she reconnects with an old high school friend Luke who is wounded and is adjusting to a life of a paraplegic. The unlikely love affair between her and Luke evolves and both rediscover themselves thru their devotion to one another. It is the unlikely love affair that affirms their life to both of them. Jon Voight's performance is fantastic. The range of emotion (rage, depression, longing for a woman) he is able to express in this film is absolutely beautiful.

A shattering and poignant Vietnam War love story
Director Hal Ashby's COMING HOME (1978) is a powerful and poignant look at the Vietnam War as it affected both veterans stateside and soldiers overseas. A brilliant, Oscar-winning screenplay (by Waldo Salt, Robert C. Jones and Nancy Dowd) has Jane Fonda (Oscar winner) as the wife of a Marine captain (Oscar nominee Bruce Dern) who is stationed in Asia. Lonely and eager to help out veterans at a local Southern California hospital, Fonda's Sally Hyde befriends paraplegic Luke Martin (Oscar winner Jon Voight) while her best friend Vi (Oscar nominee Penelope Milford) take an ocean-front beach cottage. The performances are all towering and complex; even Dern is not a black-and-white villain, but a victim of a misbegotten war. And a very graphic sex scene with Luke and Sally is meant to show that paraplegics can still make passionate love. The ending is a three-pronged heartbreaker.

This mature and gut-wrenching masterpiece, beautifully photographed by Haskell Wexler in soft-focus pastels, has a very nostalgic song score for the 1960's. I'd love to own the album. I remember when the movie came out in 1978 and was competing with THE DEER HUNTER and Warren Beatty's escapist fluff HEAVEN CAN WAIT for multiple Oscars, including Picture and Director. I would hate to have to vote on COMING HOME vs. THE DEER HUNTER; both are devastating and extraordinary. COMING HOME's veteran's hospital scenes, according to the end credits, feature real-life wounded soldiers. And the very profane screenplay captures the 1960's Vietnam era to perfection. The movie left me in tears and took forever to shake off late at night, even on pan/scan videocassette. If you feel up to it, this extraordinary film is a richly rewarding feast for mature adults. Fonda and Voight have seldom been better. And what ever happened to the hauntingly lovely Milford, who is not to be confused with Penelope Wilton?

P.S.--I don't believe Norman Jewison worked on this project. Hal Ashby directed it, and three others wrote it.